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The Wondrous Orders
Overview The Wondrous Orders ''is a Roman Catholic work that attempts to create a rule of life based on rules from religious orders and apply them to the living of the laity at large. The volume uses an approach that focuses on the unifying virtues or strongholds of heart, doctrine, passion, and wisdom. Overall, it is through this theory of unification that greater holiness can be achieved. The work is available for purchase on Amazon. History The idea of the text came from Anthony Bueche's sophomore year of high school when he thought about creating a personal rule for the benefit of strengthening self governance in order to better devote himself to Christian holiness. (1st Edition) The first draft of ''The Wondrous Orders included only the four core orders of the work which contribute living statutes to the endeavors of heart, doctrine, passion, and wisdom. It was then revised for grammatical errors and reprinted for Bueche's personal use. (Circa '16) The Circa '16 edition of the work expanded the document to include constitutions which dealt with more specific tenets of life and spoke on them in the style of an essay compared to the list of rules found in the four orders. This version was endeavored to be replaced when the original file of the document became lost. This prompted Bueche to rewrite with this version as inspiration the orders and expand upon them to form the successive version. Onward The next edition put into effect and still technically in use is The Wondrous Orders: Onward. This version became the longest of then existing versions and took effect near the end of 2016. It is from this version that Bueche adapted the orders for self publication. There are differences which make the publicly released version a separate but derived version from Onward. Faithful Edition The document as it is presented in its final and self published form is known as the faithful edition since it was formulated with the faithful members of the Catholic Church in mind. References to Bueche are removed and an extra section is added titled Foundations which deals with living the strongholds of faith through the Catholic faith tradition. It is the present version of the orders in force and it expands upon the Onward Edition making it the longest edition of the document to date. Structure Introductory Sections The volume begins with sections that orient the reader toward the purpose and aim of the orders. The Preface explains the role of the orders as a type of rule of life similar to those found in religious life in the Church while also emphasizing the inferiority of the orders to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The introduction section that follows introduces terms used in the orders so that the reader may have a reference when language particular to the orders is used. The Behold The Behold section acts as a preamble to the orders and contains vows to faith, the Church, God, and the virtues that the orders uphold. It is then followed by a prayer that asks for the ability to uphold the virtues or strongholds of faith (Heart, Doctrine, Passion, and Wisdom). Finally, there is a command to "Dare and serve in search of God's Wonder" which is a summarization of the aim of the orders as an endeavor to seek out God in the joy of wonderment. The Order of Heart The first order of the four is the order to heart which orients the person towards love of self, other, and God. The four subsections or "doctrines" are the Doctrine of Character, the Doctrine of External Relations, the Doctrine of the Pure Heart, and the Premier Doctrine for the Conservation of Hope. The order is made up of these different aspects of life that draw upon love which are each broken down into a collection of rules dealing with the subject and virtuous living. Heart is usually represented by the color red and the symbol of the heart. The Order of Doctrine The second order of the four is the order to doctrine which orients the person towards obedience to God and the Church through the appreciation of knowledge and the orientation of one's will towards what is of God. The four subsections or "doctrines" are the Doctrine of Academic Excellence, the Doctrine of Financial Status, the Doctrine of the Passion of Thought, and the Premier Doctrine for the Conversion of Souls. The order is made up of these different aspects of life that draw upon obedience and knowledge which are each broken down into a collection of rules dealing with the subject and virtuous living. Doctrine is usually represented by the color blue and the symbol of the sword. The Order of Passion The third order of the four is the order to passion which orients the person towards knowledge of self and the development of personal identity for the sake of fortitude and resistance to temptation. The four subsections or "doctrines" are the Doctrine of Health and Wellbeing, the Doctrine of the Subordinate Rite, the Doctrine of Unbelievable Falsehoods, and the Premier Doctrine for the Strengthening of External Identities. The order is made up of these different aspects of life that draw upon identity and steadfastness which are each broken down into a collection of rules dealing with the subject and virtuous living. Passion is usually represented by the color orange and the symbol of the flame. The Order of Wisdom The fourth order of the four is the order to wisdom which orients the person towards the mystical nature of God and the pursuit of His will and grace. The four subsections or "doctrines" are the Doctrine of Auxiliary Acts, the Doctrine of the Faithful Soul, the Premier Doctrine for Relations with the Orders, and the Doctrine of the Future. The order is made up of these different aspects of life that draw upon spiritual will and faith filled intuition which are each broken down into a collection of rules dealing with the subject and virtuous living. Wisdom is usually represented by the color gray and the symbol of the eye. Foundations This section goes through each virtue and names concrete practices that can aid in the fostering of each virtue or stronghold. The central purpose of the section is to provide ways of practice in the physical in order to foster the gifts and aids of the spiritual. It is the most practice oriented aspect of the orders while the rest of the work tends to center around mindset and viewpoint which indirectly lead to a fostering of rightful action. The Constitutions of the Orders The final section of the orders is the collection of constitutions. This section in itself is the largest of the volume is longer than all other sections combined. The collection includes fifty one constitutions dealing with aspects of life. Some or directive in nature while others or ritualistic or poetic. They all form one purpose which is to bring solace and betterment to the person even though the means by which they propose this is different. Most constitutions have a visual while all constitutions have a number ordered by the age of the constitution. This is to say that overall constitutions near the beginning are newer than those near the end. Each is named in latin and english to represent their tie to Catholic ideals. Most constitutions are then ended by a scriptural passage that speaks to the contents in order to tie the themes to the continual declaration of Christian faith. The Ordo Vitam Hidden at the very end of the volume is the ''Ordo Vitam ''or Order of Life. It serves the purpose to as a final word to orient one's will towards the helping of others as God as presented the circumstance to do so. Included is a place to name those one has been called to dedicate themselves to. Etymology ''The Wondrous Orders ''gets its name from the active pursuit of wonder in God. It is an order in that it provides commands for a rightful living of life and it is wondrous because through the command is a call to find God in all and come to wonder about life and faith in Him who inspires awe. This understanding is fully realized in the concept of the Wonderess which shall be discussed in a later article. The preferred adjective for referring to anything having to do with the orders is "Orderian." Other adjectives have been suggested such as "Buechean" but the author, Anthony Bueche, rejects this since it is not to be focused around him but the orders themselves.